1. The Bible in its original documents is the inspired Word of God, the written record of His supernatural revelation of Himself to man, absolute in its authority, complete in its revelation, final in its content, without error in its statements.
II Timothy 3:16, John 10:35; Psalm 89:34; Hebrews 6:18; II Peter 3:16
2. There is one God, eternally existent, creator of the heaven and the earth. He is manifested in three persons– Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6;John 14:9; I Timothy 3:16; I John 5:7; Genesis 1:2
3. The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God who took on flesh and dwelt on the earth. He was sinlessly perfect and gave Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice by shedding His blood and dying on the tree. He then came back from the dead. This was to pay for all sins ( past, present, and future) and His eternal life is given to all who believe.
II Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:9; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 10:10-14; Hebrews 9:12-28; Acts 13:38-41; I Peter 2:24; I John 3:5
4. God is absolutely sovereign and in His sovereignty gave man a free will to accept or reject the salvation that he has provided. It is God’s will that all would be saved and that none should parish. God foreknows but does not predetermine any man to be condemned. God permits man’s destiny to depend upon man’s choice.
I Timothy 2:4; II Thessalonians 2:13; I Peter 1:2; II Peter 3:9; John 6: 64-65; Acts 10:34; I Corinthians 1:21; Ephesians 1:5-14; Romans 8: 29-30; Romans 9: 30-32
5. Each member of the human race is fallen, sinful, and lost, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for the salvation of man. The moment a person receives Christ as his Savior, immediately, the Holy Spirit indwells him or her and they are sealed until the day of redemption.
Romans 2:23; John 3:7; I Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:13-14; Luke 24: 49; Titus 3:5
6. Man is saved by undeserved mercy through faith and nothing of man enters into his salvation; it is a free gift. Man’s efforts, regardless of how well or good intended, before or after salvation, have nothing to do with it. Salvation is by the finished work of Christ and nothing can be added to it.
Ephesians 2:8&9; Galatians 2:16; Romans 11:6; Colossians 2:13; Titus 3:5; Romans 3:22
7. The Church began with the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and is composed of all true believers. By the Holy Spirit we are all baptized into one body of Christ. Water Baptism is not essential for salvation, but is a testimony to the world.
Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 6:19and 20; Acts 2:1-4; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:5; Acts 10:47
8. Every true child of God possesses eternal life and is, therefore safe and secure for all eternity, being justified by faith, sanctified by God, and sealed by the Holy Spirit; we cannot lose his or her salvation. However, a Christian can through sin, lose their fellowship, joy, power, testimony, and reward, and incur the father’s chastisement. Relationship is eternal, being established by the new birth; fellowship; whoever is dependent upon obedience.
I Corinthians 3: 11-17; Hebrews 12:5-11; I Corinthians 11: 30-32
9.a. A true child of God has two births; one if the flesh; the other of the Spirit, giving man a flesh nature and a Spirit Nature. The flesh nature is neither good nor righteous. The Spiritual Man does not commit any sin. This results in warfare between the Spirit and the flesh, which continues until physical death, or the return of the Lord. The flesh nature of man does not change in any way with the new birth, but can be controlled and kept subdued by the new man.
John 3: 3-7; Romans 7: 15-25; Romans 8:8; Galatians 5:17; I John 3:9; I Peter 1:23; I John 5:18; I John 1:8
9.b. I John 1:9 is not a verse for salvation, but a precious promise to Christians for cleansing and forgiveness.
I John 1:9 does not guarantee restoration of fellowship or restitution from physical damage caused by sin.
It is heresy to teach that confession of sin produces spiritual fruit. Confession of sin places the Christian in the position where he or she can have fellowship.
I John 1: 6,7 teaches that fellowship is a part, comes from the Christians obedience to God.
II Peter 1: 5-8; Colossians 1:10; John 15:8; I John 1: 6 ,7; Galatians 5:22
Spiritually of which fellowship is a part, comes from the Christian’s obedience to God. II Peter 1:5-8; Colossians 1:10; John 15: 8; I John 1:6; Galatians 5:22;
10. There will be a resurrection of the saved and of the lost; of the saved unto eternal life, and of the lost unto eternal conscious punishment. These two resurrections are separated by at least 1000 years.
I Thessalonians 4: 13-18; Daniel 12:2; Revelation 20: 5-15; Matthew 25:41
11. We believe in the personal, pre-tribulation and pre-millennial return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
12. Satan is a person, the author of sin, and he and his angels shall be eternally punished.
Ezekiel 28:15, 17; Isaiah 26:17-21; Isaiah 27:1; Revelation 4:4
13. God can heal but physical healing is not in the atonement. God heals miraculously today when it is in His perfect will to do so. Healing cannot be claimed through the guarantee of the atonement. At times it is Gods will for sickness not to be removed.
Ii Corinthians 12: 8-10; James 5: 14-16
14. The gift of tongues ( languages) was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power solely for the demonstration of God’s wisdom, purpose, and power in the establishment of the early church, and was always in a language that was in use.
Acts 2:6; I Corinthians 14:22
15. The true child of God is not under the law but under grace; he is saved by grace and disciplined by grace.
Romans 6:14-15; Romans 11:6; II Corinthians 3:17
16. Repentance is necessary for salvation.
The Greek word for repent is Metanoeo, which, translated into English is : “ to change one’s mind.” It does not mean “ to turn from sin”. That would add works to salvation.
Repentance for salvation means a change of mind from men’s idea of salvation and religion to an acceptance of God’s only way of salvation.
This results in a completely new creation, not a reformation of the old. The old nature remains as evil as ever after salvation and has not been reformed… The old nature can now be controlled by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
God guarantees salvation. This is His gift to us.
God guarantees reward and fruit to the obedient son.
God guarantees chastening and loss of rewards to the disobedient child.
God does not cast out disobedient children, but in some cases, does take them home. He does not permit His children to live as they please without His discipline and guidance.
Many teach repentance for salvation incorrectly, by including some for of human effort or righteousness, such as willingness to turn from sin, or turning from sin.This is heresy and has confused many people. It adds works to salvation and causes many to not understand God’s great gift. It is probation, not salvation. It is completely unscriptural. It is “ Galatianism” and a counterfeit of the gospel.
It is a tragedy that many Christians live shallow Christian lives. LAST RESORT MINISTRIES is dedicated to the task of training Christian men and women in the importance of total dedication and making Jesus the Lord of their Lives— Not to be saved—- but because we are saved.
Shallow Christianity cannot be cured by adding works to salvation.
Salvation is not a result of what we do but is by receiving what God has done for us.
Acts 13:38, 39; Acts 20: 20; Galatians 1:8, 9; Galatians 2:21; Galatians 3:1-3; Galatians 5: 1-4; Ephesians 2:8-10; II Corinthians 5:21; John 3:16-18; Philippians 3:9; Titus 3: 5-8; II Corinthians 11:13-15
17. It is every Christian’s privilege and duty to make clear God’s plan of salvation wherever and in whatever vocation he or she may be.
Mark 16:15; I Thessalonians 2:4
18. The general plan of salvation in God’s word in a brief outline that is believed and practiced by LAST RESORT MINISTRIES is as follows:
A. Establish the fact that all men are sinners.
Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 64:6;Jeremiah 17:9; James 2:10
B. Establish the fact that the penalty for sin is death.
Romans 6:23; Ezekiel 18:20
C. Establish the fact that you must be perfect to enter heaven.
Revelation 21:27
D. Establish the fact that man can do nothing of himself to obtain perfection.
Ephesians 2:8,9; Galatians 2:16; Romans 4:5
E. Show how God provided a sin-bearer and imputes to man His righteousness.
II Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9; Isaiah 53:6; I Peter 3:18
F. Establish the fact that man needs only belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior for salvation.
John 3:16; Romans 10:9; John 1:12: Acts 16:31
G. Establish the fact that man can be certain of his salvation now, and that his salvation cannot be lost because eternal life is eternal.
John 6:37-39; John 10:28; I Peter 1:5; Hebrews 10: 10-14; I John 5:13
Remarks:
Of course, there are no set steps in leading a person to Christ. This is a general plan that has proven very successful in actual practice, the emphasis being shifted from one point to another, depending upon the need of the particular individual.
Repentance is not left out of the above steps but is included with different wording. One of the counterfeits Satan is using today is the misuse of the word “repent”. To insist upon a repentance that in any sense includes a demand for a change of conduct either toward God or man is to add the element of works or human merit to faith.
Penance is payment for sin. Penitence is sorrow for sin. Works and something of self is turning from sin But repent (Greek, metaneo) means to a change of mind. Repentance in salvation means a change of mind from one idea of religion that man might have and accepting God’s way of salvation. Nowhere does scripture use the phrase “ repent of sin” to be saved. Scripture says in Acts 20:21, “repentance toward God” ( change of mind toward God) “and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
